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Australia posts

Nokia's Ovi store makes soft landing in a few markets, might be headed to your neck of the woods soon

by Paul Miller, posted May 25th 2009 at 12:02PM

With that May launch window closing fast, it looks like Nokia might get Ovi Store in under the proverbial wire: it just went live on Vodafone in Australia, which was soon followed by other carriers, and then Ireland and Singapore. According to a post that was subsequently pulled from Nokia's Conversations blog, Nokia confirmed the rollout and said that it was progressively moving the Ovi Store to "production servers," and that we could "expect a broader announcement and consumer availability soon." Unfortunately, since that post has been pulled, we're not really sure what to expect, but at least the lucky few with Ovi can beam back important missives on their Twittix apps about what life is like in the future. Above are shots of the store live on an N97.

Aussie whiz-kids can cram 1.6TB on a DVD-sized disc, go Outback tonight

by Darren Murph, posted May 21st 2009 at 6:06AM

Don't take it personally, Blu-ray -- we still love you and all, but there's just something dreamy about baking 1.6TB of information onto a blank piece of optical media we can actually afford. According to a new report, a crew of researchers at Swinburne University of Technology in Australia have exploited the properties of a certain gold nano-rod that will theoretically enable them to shove 300 DVDs worth of data onto a single disc. Calling the method "five-dimensional optical recording," the technique "employs nanometer-scale particles of gold as a recording medium," and according to developers, it's primed for commercialization. Essentially, these gurus have figured out how to add a spectral and polarization dimension, giving them the ability to record information "in a range of different color wavelengths on the same physical disc." As for the chances this actually makes it out of the laboratory and into the lives of real humans? Slim, Jim.

[Thanks, Sam]

Australian Envirobank gives goodies for recyclables, plus a sympathetic ear

by Tim Stevens, posted May 4th 2009 at 10:16AM

If you're in a state within the States that's instituted bottle and can redemption programs, you've probably seen automated recycling machines that accept the discarded shells of your formerly refreshing beverages and dispense real money in return. Australia is getting on-board with a similar machine that bribes folks to recycle, but in a somewhat more high-tech way -- and without the up-front redemption fee. The Envirobank accepts both cans and bottles, scanning the bar code to identify the product and also checking the material to make sure it's recyclable. Accepted containers are crushed and kept, while the kind-hearted recycler gets a coupon or credit of some sort for their efforts (details TBD). Interestingly, the machine sports a mysterious yellow button that will connect troubled kids to "somebody who will listen" -- a nice idea, but we're not entirely sure how many youths will be interested in pouring their hearts out to a big box in the mall food court.

[Via The Red Ferret Journal]

UMID M1 unboxed ahead of Australian launch

by Ross Miller, posted Apr 27th 2009 at 9:08PM

Still no US release in sight, but UMID's M1 has now set the course for the land down under in the not-too-distant future. Pocketables has managed to get its hands on a non-HSDPA retail version to take it through the unboxing and review motions. The pictures are a good reminder at just how tiny this thing is, especially compared to the jacket pocket fave Vaio P. Unfortunately, it's also got a rather awkward set of adapters for USB and what appears to be headphones, as seen in the picture above. Australian retailer Justek's got the unit available for pre-order now, but you might want to glance at that $930 to $1426 price range before you impulsively hit the "pre-order now" button.

Read - Unboxing
Read - Product page

CSIRO's patent lawsuits conclude with the final 13 companies settling

by Ross Miller, posted Apr 22nd 2009 at 12:53AM

Looks like CSIRO's legal days are over -- for the moment, at least. Having already reached an agreement with HP, the Australian government-funded research firm announced this week that it's settled with the remaining 13 companies it sued for patent infringement, claiming it owned the rights to 802.11a/g. For those who haven't been keeping track at home, that includes Dell, Intel, Microsoft, Nintendo, Fujitsu, Toshiba, Netgear, Buffalo, D-Link, Belkin, SMC, Accton, and 3Com. The details of any of the settlements are undisclosed, but as iTnews reports, it's expected CSIRO ended up with some substantial monies now that the dust has settled. Chief Executive Dr. Megan Clark noted that it'll continue to "defend its intellectual property," so if you're a high profile tech company who creates WiFi-equipped gadgets and hasn't been served a lawsuit yet, we don't blame you for being a little nervous right now.

Australia's A$43 billion broadband project: up to 100Mbps in 90% of homes and businesses

by Ross Miller, posted Apr 7th 2009 at 3:04AM

In what he's calling "the single biggest infrastructure decision" in the country's history," Australia Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's announced an A$43 billion (US $30.6 billion) project to create a nationwide high speed broadband network. The goal's to get 90 percent of homes and business up to 100Mbps speeds with fiber optic connection, with a less impressive 12Mbps wireless / satellite for the rest. Up to 49 percent of the funds will be from the private sector; the government will initially invest A$4.7b, while A$20b will come from a national infrastructure fund and the sale of bonds. The venture's expected to take seven to eight years, and Rudd said the government intends to sell off its stake after five years. Sure, it's not 1Gbps by 2012, but hey, they might end up beating us at the "nationwide broadband" game.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Read - Sydney Morning Herald
Read - Reuters

Australian continues to hone $300,000 flight simulator

by Darren Murph, posted Mar 13th 2009 at 9:57AM

Ha, and you thought your HotSeat Chassis was the next best thing to paying way too much to carry an appropriate amount of luggage on your next jaunt to paradise. Australia's own Matthew Sheil has been tinkering on his own personal flight simulator for over a decade now, but the latest iteration is just too good to ignore. Aside from setting a Guinness world record for his efforts, the man has poured over $300,000 into recreating the flying experience of a 747-400, which is dirt cheap compared to the $60 million that professional simulators generally run. Sheil flies virtually with legions of other enthusiasts around the world, and each year he hosts 15 folks as they rotate on an around-the-world flight that Qantas sponsors and where donation money is funneled to the Royal Flying Doctor Service. Hit up the read link to get a real gist of what this thing is capable of, and feel free to go in with stupid high expectations.

Optus' HTC Dream spotted, photographed passionately

by Darren Murph, posted Mar 9th 2009 at 5:57AM

Low light, candles in the corner -- seriously folks, these shots are downright sultry. Optus' HTC G1, er, Dream has been spotted and photographed in some random corner of the world, and while it basically looks like every other G1 you've ever seen in this hue, we're absolutely certain that Australians in attendance are more than happy to have a look. You know where to head for the rest.

[Thanks, Tom]

DIY prosthesis all the rage in Tasmania

by Joseph L. Flatley, posted Feb 13th 2009 at 10:47PM

When the doctors told amputee Mark Lesek that the severity of his injury made him ineligible for a prosthesis, he refused to give up. Left with nothing but his own welding and engineering business, several hundred thousands of dollars, and an indomitable spirit, the Tasmanian gentleman began the quest for an artificial arm. First, he shopped around until he found a doctor who agreed to order an $80,000 prosthesis from Germany -- which eventually broke down (but not before he shelled out $6,000 for repairs on the thing). His next stop was the Branemark Osseointegration Centre in Sweden, where he was fitted with an $80,000 bolt that works as a sort of "artificial shoulder." Still unable to find a suitable arm, the guy teamed up with one of his employees to design and build his own lightweight magnesium "body powered" prosthesis. But that's not all -- he's also working with the University of Tasmania to develop a more agile computer-controlled arm, controlled with "a cap with electrodes which will be interfaced into the computer." Let's hope that all his hard work pays off -- and that he teaches those doctors a thing or two in the process.

[Via Switched]

Optus bringing G1... er, HTC Dream to Australia later this month

by Paul Miller, posted Feb 5th 2009 at 8:35AM

While Telstra's busy bragging about Android sets from HTC that don't yet exist, Australian rival Optus is making stuff happen. How? Easy: T-Mobile's G1 is being repurposed as the HTC Dream down here -- one of the phone's rumored names prior to its original release, you might recall -- featuring 2100MHz HSDPA, WiFi, and everything else you've come to know and love / hate about the world's first retail Android device. It'll launch February 16 on plans starting at $59 Australian (about $38) per month, so it'll be pretty accessible. Sure, Telstra, you may have some awesome devices in the pipeline, but a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush, if you know what we're saying.

[Thanks, Adin K. and justme]

Virgin offers up 25 million 'Velocity Points' to put you in space

by Darren Murph, posted Feb 2nd 2009 at 9:37AM

We thought that Virgin might allow its most loyal patrons to exchange frequent flyer points for trips to space, and now it looks like they hope to jump-start the process with a seriously stacked contest. In Australia, the company is now counting 'Velocity Points' as entry to a drawing where you could win 25 million frequent flyer miles -- or exactly the amount you need to get yourself a space flight for two. Oh, and if you have no interest in ever looking like that chap pictured above, Virgin will also let you exchange them for a pair of Alfa Romeo vehicles, the chance to explore the planet "how you see fit" or a $170,000 shopping spree.

Update: We got this story a little turned around initially, as you can see -- this is for a contest to win 25 million points, not an offer open to anyone who has 25 million points (though it's assumed if you've got those kinds of numbers, you can head to space too).

[Via VideoSift]

Western Digital's 2TB Caviar Green HDD on sale in Australia

by Darren Murph, posted Jan 26th 2009 at 11:47PM

Just as we'd heard, Western Digital is indeed producing (and shipping) a standalone 2TB internal hard drive. Available now for purchase from Mwave Australia, the 3.5-inch WD20EADS sports a 7,200RPM spin speed, 32MB of cache and a AU$377.80 price tag, which converts to just under $250 in greenbacks. We get the feeling that this drive is just hours away from launching here in the US of A (we're guessing the time zones are to blame), so we'll be keeping a close eye out for early reports on performance.

[Thanks, Danny]

Nokia's Comes With Music goes on European tour, Asia next, Americas deemed too boring

by Tim Stevens, posted Jan 21st 2009 at 8:17AM

It was just yesterday that Reuters predicted Nokia's Comes With Music service was headed for something of a pilgrimage through the wilds of Europe, and now we have the official confirmation of this "pan European" expansion. The company has secured partnerships with music licensing and publishing big-wigs in Spain, France, Italy, Sweden, Finland, and Norway, and is indicating that Singapore and Australia are next on its to-do list. Alas there was no mention of other nations getting any sort of attention, meaning Nokia handsets in the New World are unlikely to come with anything but guilt for the forseeable future.

Nokia's Comes With Music service plans world tour

by Darren Murph, posted Jan 20th 2009 at 3:01AM

Nokia's all-you-can-eat Comes With Music service has been humming along quite nicely across the pond, but until now, we've been left in the dark about its plans for world domination. No more, as a recent Reuters report has it that the unlimited music service should be headed to Australia, Asia and Singapore later this quarter and Latin America / USA sometime this year. We're also told that more corners of Europe should get served in the future, though no window of time was handed out there. It should be interesting to see if any carriers jump in to subsidize these, but our gut feeling says they'll be sold for a premium unlocked at your nearest Nokia flagship.

[Via UnwiredView]

So close, yet so far: Kogan Agora delayed indefinitely

by Chris Ziegler, posted Jan 16th 2009 at 12:48AM

Oh, Kogan -- we were so, so hopeful that you weren't peddling vaporware, and the latest indications seemed to suggest that the Agora and Agora Pro were very much real devices. We wanted to root for the little guy, get another Android handset out into the unlocked market, review it, and love it to death. Unfortunately, scrappy Australian entrepreneur Ruslan Kogan has decided to delay the launch of his independently-designed phones indefinitely citing concerns over compatibility with future Android apps -- concerns that were likely raised in a hush-hush meeting he'd recently scored with Google. One issue, it seems, is that the Agora's screen resolution won't likely play nice with Android apps going forward; that doesn't seem quite right since the form factor is totally standard, but who really knows? The dude's had working prototypes on video, so we can't totally write it off just yet.

[Thanks Alex Z., and everyone who sent this in]